


Upside Down

by marcoisamango



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confession, Rejection, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 03:24:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10676697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcoisamango/pseuds/marcoisamango
Summary: The first time Chat Noir met Ladybug, his world turned upside down.





	1. Chapter One

The first time Chat Noir met Ladybug, his world turned upside down.

 

Granted he was literally upside down and tied to a invincible yo-yo string, but he would have fallen in love with the red spotted heroine anyway.

 

There was something about that girl and he knew it from the moment he was wrapped around her yo-yo string by his ankle and thrown at Stoneheart, screaming "This girl is crazy!" from the top of his lungs. Even more so when she stood up to a masked villain and vowed to protect all of Paris and captured what seemed to be thousands of akumas.

 

He knew it right then and there. No matter who was behind that mask, he would love that girl.

 

All the time they spend together was thrilling, especially since Adrien had spent almost fifteen years confined in his cold mansion. But, it probably would have been thrilling anyway since they were jumping on rooftops and buildings in the middle of the night. 

 

Adrien's favorite time of day was the night. He could be himself. 

 

He could be Chat Noir.

 

He could scale buildings and jump on the rooftops and look at the city lights from the view at the Eiffel Tower. He could see Ladybug and they could play games like tag and hide and seek. They may have seemed childish but for Adrien, a boy who spent his childhood alone, the games they played were perfect.

 

To think that what they had was anything more was just his mistake.

 

One night, in the middle of playing hide and seek, he told her. He had just found her, hiding in a small space between buildings and giggling as he teased her about losing. 

 

He lost more. He lost her.

 

He told her how he felt. He hasn't meant to. Maybe it was the way she looked under the moonlight, her hair falling out of her classic pigtails. Maybe it was the way she was laughing and snorting as she slapped her leg. Maybe it was the fact that he held it in for so long and just needed to tell her.

 

So he did. And he lost everything.

 

He remembers everything. He remembers what he said and the look she gave him and what she told him after a slightly uncomfortable silence. 

 

He would give anything not to remember.

 

He had said, "Oh I love you, my lady." And he had said it before he realized just how badly he wanted to say it. It wasn't worth it though. It wasn't worth the guilt and shock on her face when she tried to piece together a response. She couldn't lie to him to spare his feelings. She couldn't tell him how she didn't feel the same way because she knew how much it would hurt him.

 

But she does. She has to.

 

She says how flattered she is and tries to put it in the gentlest way possible and he hates it. She talks to him like he's an injured animal and he can't find the words to tell her to stop talking so he just runs away.

 

He hasn't seen her since that night, last night. He hasn't slept since two nights before and don't know how he ever will now. He fell into the same routine and hoped that no one would notice the bags under his eyes or how this smile didn't nearly shine as bright. It's not exactly like he could tell Nino either, considering he confessed to her as Chat Noir.

 

He wonders if it would have made a difference if would have confessed to her as Adrien.

 

Surprisingly he hasn't cried yet. He's been too busy worrying if she'll ever speak to him again and if she is angry at him for telling her. He worries that their partnership will never be the same and that Paris will suffer because of it and then he really starts wishing he never told her.

 

The rejection doesn't actually hit him until lunchtime.

 

He has the afternoon free that day and was looking forward to spending it with Nino, but he can't seem to run away fast enough to the front steps of the school. Before he leaves, he sees Alya hold Nino back from running after him and he mentally thanks her. He doesn't feel like dealing with anybody right now and is silently thankfully that Chloé hasn't noticed him leaving the school yet.

 

Soon he's crying on the steps of the school and doesn't think he can stop. His father has told him not to cry, but he honestly couldn't care less about what his father says right now. He feels like he's underwater and realizes that he's been choking on a sob and finally lets it past his lips. He starts thinking about how Ladybug doesn't love him and how nobody loves him and how nobody will ever love him. Everyone loves Adrien but, he hates Adrien. He hates how that if she can't love him, he feels he can't love himself too.

 

He hears footsteps approach him and quietly prays that Chloé isn't behind him. The person wordlessly wraps their arms around him and he comes to the conclusion that it's Marinette after he smells the scent of vanilla and bread.

 

She lets him hold onto her and cry into her arms until all the tears on his cheeks dry and he runs out of anymore of them. 

 

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that." He apologized with a hoarse voice and can barely recognize himself. Marinette lightly scolds him for apologizing and holds onto his hand. Her hand is warm and starts to feel nice against his cold, shivering hand. He holds her hand tightly, almost afraid to let go.

 

"Am I allowed to ask what happened?" Her voice is soft, like her hand. Adrien hesitates on telling her before reminding himself who he's talking to. Nobody is more understanding than Marinette and he knows that she's a great listener. Besides, he can bend the truth a bit.

 

"There's this girl." He pauses, realizing that this is the first time he's ever talked about Ladybug to someone other than Ladybug. Plagg doesn't really count, considering he's too hyped up on camembert to listen. He takes a small breath before continuing. "I've been in love with her for so long. I finally told her last night and she-" His voice cracks and breaks there and he hates the way it sounds. He can't look at Marinette as he speaks because he feelings ashamed and embarrassed. Maybe he shouldn't tell anyone anything.

 

Marinette doesn't make him finish and seems to know just what he was about to say and what he needs. She squeezes his hand, causing him to turn and look at her. When he does, he sees her give him a blurry smile and a look in her eyes that he just can't make out. He sees her gulp and wonders if it's because she's been rejected before and knows what Adrien is going through. He stops that thought before he can finish it because it's Marinette and he can't imagine anyone rejecting her.

 

Before he can think anything else, Marinette speaks.

 

"I know it may seem hard right now." She starts. She may seem like she knows where she is going with this, but only she knows that she has no idea what she is saying. Adrien is fooled though so she just keeps talking. "But it can only get better from here." Adrien looks like he doesn't quite believe her, so she has to elaborate.

 

"She knows how you feel. It doesn't matter if she doesn't feel the same way, as long as she knows that you care for her. She can't help how she feels. Neither can you. The only thing you can do is accept the way she feels and move on." Adrien seems lost in thought, so she assumes that he's agreeing. "We don't have control over these things." She weakly shrugs. 

 

On the outside, Marinette looks like the world's greatest friend. On the inside, she feels like screaming how in love she is with this boy. But, she can't. So she smiles and nods to whatever Adrien is saying and gulps down all the things she wants to say.

 

Meanwhile, Adrien thinks about what Marinette has told him and realizes that he needs to move on from Ladybug. He can't force her to love him, but he needs them to be friends. He tells Marinette this, leaving Ladybug's name out of it and watches as she nods along. He thanks Marinette with a hug and walks inside, thinking of how he is going to meet up with Ladybug and resolve all the tension between them.

 

Before Adrien leaves, he asks Marinette if she's coming inside too and she tells him she is going to stay outside for a bit longer. When he leaves she feels the urge to burst out into tears. She tells herself that she needs to take her own advice, even though it hurts. Adrien doesn't need a girlfriend right now, he needs a friend.

 

And that's all Marinette is to him.

 

They both feel like broken records. They say the same things and chase after the same people. They let their worlds turn upside down because of somebody and blindly idolize them, only to realize that they don't love them back.

 

But they both know one thing for sure. It may seem hard right now, but it only gets better from here.

 

Right?


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Marinette met Adrien, she flipped.

The first time Marinette met Adrien, she flipped.

 

Well technically, she flipped out because he was putting gum on her seat and Marinette can be quite intimidating when she wants to, therefore glaring at Adrien and resisting the urge to kick his ass.

 

But then he gave her his umbrella and her heart started beating ten times faster.

 

To make matters worse, she couldn't seem to form intelligent sentences around him. To be fair though, she was getting better at it. She was able to talk to him when he helped her talk to her great Uncle, though she pretty much just wasted his time. 

 

But now things were on a whole new level of different.

 

Ever since Marinette consoled Adrien on the front steps of the school, it had kind of been an unspoken agreement between the two to not tell anybody. Marinette didn't think Adrien was quite ready to tell Nino yet and besides, he needed to get over his feelings. You couldn't exactly do that when you talk about your crush all the time.

 

Ahem.

 

Anyways, Marinette had prided herself all week on being the perfect friend to Adrien. She brought him treats from the bakery, (mostly croissants because those were his favorite) and she would invite him to come play video games at home. With that new development however, it became a nussiance to have to take down and put up all the pictures of him all the time, so she just decided to get rid of them.

 

Look at her, all grown up.

 

Adrien had even told Marinette that he and the girl who rejected him were now on great terms. She was also especially happy because her and Chat Noir had finally cleared the air too.

 

Everything seemed back to normal again.

 

Until it wasn't.

 

Somewhere between all the sweets and the video games, Adrien had grown a soft spot for Marinette. Well, may a tad more than a soft spot. He started coming to the conclusion that he was falling in love with her.

 

After his infatuation with Lasybug subsided, he started feeling things for Marinette.

 

He started tripping over things all the time. Chairs, backpacks, thin air! He even started tripping over his own words. He was never like this with Ladybug, so he just assumed that the suit made him ooze confidence. Great.

 

Next he started having dreams with Marinette in them. These dreams suddenly turned into full blown dreams about Marinette. Mostly dreams of them baking or playing video games, but they all ending in one thing.

 

They always ended with Marinette kissing him.

 

Then after all those dreams, Adrien couldn't even look Marinette in the eyes. Not because he was disgusted or anything, but because if he did, he knew that just like all those dreams, it would end up with some lip to lip action.

 

Alas, the last thing that Adrien needed was another girl to pine after. He had just gotten over Ladybug and now he was harboring feelings for Marinette. It seemed like a lost cause. Marinette was way out of his league. According to Alya, Marinette had never had a boyfriend. Adrien had been surprised when he heard that. He had thought that lots of boys would want a chance to date Marinette. Nathaniel, Kim, even Nino! Marinette would never want to go out with him.

 

At least that's what he thought.

 

Mid week after school, Adrien had gone over to the Dupain-Cheng's once again. It had begun to feel like a second home, if not a first home. They had played some Mecha Strike, ending with Marinette winning of course, and then something unbelievable happened.

 

Marinette kissed him.

 

She didn't know why she did it and felt like banging her head against the hardwood desk for doing it, but then Adrien surprised her by kissing back.

 

And that's how they ended up holding hands the next day at school.

 

Of course Alya was squealing and Sabrina was holding Chloé back from pouncing on her, but Marinette couldn't be happier. All of that crap she had been telling herself about her needed to move on was stupid. Adrien liked her! Adrien was holding her hand!

 

But Adrien was also Chat Noir.

 

They hadn't meant to find out. Two months later, the akuma attacks were only getting harder and harder. It was the end of an akuma attack and time was ticking. They both had to share the same hiding space due to lack of time and that's when they realized it.

 

And Adrien was numb.

 

How was he supposed to feel when he found out his girlfriend of two months had rejected him for himself? Was he just supposed to feel lucky that she went out with him at all? Did she really love him if she only loved one side of him?

 

Of course this was brought up in the midst of Marinette's nervous rambling. 

 

"What do you mean? Of course I love you, Adrien." She didn't get it. She never had. 

 

"You love Adrien. You never loved Chat Noir." His voice was unrecognizable. Marinette started reaching out to grab onto his shoulders and steady him. He started wishing that he had never said anything. He didn't want to lose her.

"But Adrien, you are Chat Noir." He hadn't noticed that she was crying until he heard her voice crack.

 

"Adrien is the mask." His voice quavered. "Chat Noir isn't." 

 

"You think I don't know that? You don't think that it hurts knowing that I ignored Chat this whole time for Adrien?" Her breathing staggered. Adrien gulped as he felt tears on his neck. He hadn't noticed he was crying either.

 

"I fell in love with you twice." His voice was raspy and he changed his stance, causing Marinette to lose her grip on him. "You fell in love with one part of me."

 

"You're wrong." She interrupted him, shaking her head. "A mask doesn't make a whole other person. You didn't fall in love with me twice, you just didn't love all of me yet." 

 

"Like how you don't love all of me yet?" His tone was cold. Marinette's eyebrows were furrowed. He started regretting this whole conversation. He had her. He didn't want to lose her.

 

"That's not true!" She sniffled. "I didn't know you were Chat Noir, but i know you, Adrien." She tightened one of her pigtails before continuing. "I know that you excell in physics, and that you love anime. You make puns for literally ever situation imaginable, and you care about other people more than you care about yourself. I know that Chloé gets on your nerves all the time, but you still manage to hold onto that friendship because she was your first friend. I know that you're lonely and I know that you'd give anything not to be." She took a deep breath and let out a strangled chuckle.

 

"And I know that you love me. And you know that I love you." She looked at him in adoration, hoping that her eyes told him that all of this was true. "At least I hope you do."

 

Adrien wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. She did love him. She always had. She always would and the same goes for him. Of course it was discouraging at first, but Marinette was right. She was always right.

 

"How'd you get so smart, bugaboo?" He smirked half-heartedly. She gave an equally lazy smile and reached out for his hand.

 

"I learn from the best."

 

Adrien cleared his throat and Marinette mentally prepared herself for a pun. "Well, you do get a lot of wisdom from nine lives." Marinette stifled a groan and instead traded it for a laugh and a hug.

 

"Just promise me one thing." Adrien whispered, clinging tightly onto her.

 

"Anything." Marinette breathed.

 

"Promise me that you'll always love me."

 

"For all of your nine lives."

 

Things may have turned upside down, but that was okay. As long as they didn't let all the blood flow right to their head. Besides, things only got better and they'll only get better.

 

Right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the positive comments so far! I love reading them and I will be sure to respond to many! If you have any requests or thoughts, please leave them below. Don't forget to bookmark and kudo bc it makes me smile :). 
> 
> Merci mes chats!

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by a comment in my last work, so I hope that the person who suggested it enjoys this! Please comment and kudo bc it makes me smile :). I love hearing your thoughts and suggestions so please leave those below!
> 
> merci mes chats!


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